Further Indication that Tax Referendums are Not about Giving the People More Control over Taxes

I've always believed that tax referendums are more about special interest group control over public revenue streams to services and less about democratic regulation of the government's power to raise revenues. Spring Hill had no property tax in the past, but funded its services through a combination of sales taxes, developers fees, and state largess. Now that the combination is withering, the town has to find other ways to fund services for its growing population or risk withering itself. And the father of Nashville's property tax referendum is calling upon elements in Spring Hill to stop the property tax. There's no surprise in that. Tax referendums were never about checking government power. They were always about a small group who oppose public services stirring the popular pot of fear in order to terminate all but the most minimal access to those services. Tax referendums are nothing more than another tool to dismantle the delivery of public services.